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A Sexual Abuse Conviction Is Reversed--Because of Interpreting

Just last night, I read in my local paper that a deaf man accused of sexually abusing two girls ages 10 and 12 at the Maryland School for the Deaf (only a few miles down the road from us) got his conviction reversed on appeal.

Why? Because he wasn't able to question the interpreter's translation of his police interrogation responses.

The Court of Special Appeals here essentially said that this man had a constitutional right to confront and cross-examine his interpreter during his trial. But the interpreter was never called as witness because the judge said the interpreter was "not an accuser."

The man's lawyer insisted that, "With sign language you don't have the ability to give inflection... A lot of it comes down to mannerisms. When you are signing something for somebody...you can miss things."

Yet a total of seven girls between the ages of 10 and 13 had accused him of sexual offenses. What is the truth here? And was it really all lost in translation?

DC Passes Cultural Competency Bill--about LGBT

This could be a first in the country!

Our very own Washington, DC, has just passed a healthcare cultural competency bill that would require providers to get training about lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender (LGBT) patients. Or more specifically, about the health challenges that affect members of the LGBT community.

The bill is not a "done deal." The mayor has to sign it, and there's a 30-day congressional review period to survive. But the local healthcare community apparently supports it due to research on health disparities. For example, the 2015 DC Trans Need Assessment reports that 19 percent of transgender individuals in Washington have been denied medical care due to their gender identity.

The bill applies to all licensed or certified healthcare providers in Washington. It is quite a bill!

February 5, 2016

IN THIS ISSUE

DC Passes Cultural Competency Bill--about LGBT

On the Calendar

Legal Interpreting in Spain Takes a New Path

CCC Corner

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CONTACT US

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Cross-Cultural Communications
10015 Old Columbia Road
Suite B-215
Columbia, MD 21046

Phone: 410.312.5599

Email: Click here

BOOK(S) OF THE WEEK

Diversity and Cultural Competence in Health Care: A Systems Approach

Janice L. Dreachslin, M. Jean Gilbert and Beverly Malone
John Wiley, 2013

Here is a textbook. It can be used in class or for personal study. It also offers a "big picture" approach to cultural competence in health care.

Written by three well known experts in the field, the book approaches its topic top to bottom, from strategic diversity management and "self-reflective leadership" to change on the ground. It examines current practice and policy, personal change and how to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care. Throughout, it takes the lens of a cohesive systems-oriented approach.

Each chapter provides learning objectives, a summary, key terms, and review questions and activities.

ON THE CALENDAR

The Conference on NON-Professional Interpreting and Translation

It's coming May 5-7 in Winterthur, Switzerland. And yes, they really mean it: this is the 3rd International Conference on Non-Professional Interpreting and Translation and registration is open until April 1, 2016.

The conference will explore "pathways, perceptions, and practices of so-called non-professional interpreting and translation.

Legal Interpreting in Spain Takes a New Path

In 2010 the European Union threw a bomb that is still resonating in the field. The EU published a Directive (2010/64/EU) laying down the right to interpreting and translation in criminal proceedings. That directive is intended to help ensure adequate defense and a fair trial.

Spain is stepping up to the plate. It is looking at legal measures to take as a nation to comply with the EU Directive, and also at training and accreditation for interpreters--and the need to professionalize the body of legal interpreters.

For a terrific review of what's going on in Spain, elsewhere in the EU and in the U.S., a whole issue of Spain's MonTi (a Spanish journal on translation and interpreting) is devoted to the topic. Enjoy.

CCC CORNER

Thanks, Alohalani, for the Silk Ring Theory Article

We had some nice feedback on the "Comfort in, dump out" article in our last newsletter. (This was the piece about "how not to say the wrong thing" to loved ones and friends undergoing terrible things.) But we forgot to thank interpreter Alohalani Boido in Hawaii for sharing that Silk Ring Theory article .

So many thanks, Alohalani, for helping us "not to put our foot in it."

CHIA Is Coming--and We Are Going!

Are you going to the CHIA conference? Come and say hi to us! We'll have our table there and we'll be more than happy to chat.

And if you're a licensed trainer, come and have dinner with us!

By the way, this time the annual California Healthcare Interpreting Association conference is being held on a famous boat-the Queen Mary, no less. Yes, that Queen Mary. Wow. We're excited!

The Books Are Flying Off Our Shelves

We're still gasping at the number of books we sold in January. Most of them were the new textbook and workbook and our medical terminology book.

What's going on out there? January used to be our quiet month. But many of you are gearing up for trainings, or are just ready to read and study. Either way, we thank you!

Ready for the Next Training Season?

If you want to sign up for community and medical interpreting, medical terminology, our famous training of trainers and more, check out our spring-summer training calendar!

CULTURE & LANGUAGE PRESS

For a LOOK INSIDE all our publications visit our sister website: thecommunityinterpreter.com and go to Books and Products.

For more information about Cross-Cultural Communications, please go to our website at: www.cultureandlanguage.net

For more information about The Community Interpreter�, please go to our website at: www.thecommunityinterpreter.com

Sincerely,

Marjory A. Bancroft

Marjory A. Bancroft, Director

Cross-Cultural Communications, LLC

10015 Old Columbia Road, Suite B-215

Columbia, MD 21046

Phone: 410.312.5599, Fax: 410.750.0332

www.cultureandlanguage.net